Mosaic
by teno-hikari
Summary: AU Athrun Zala has everything under control. He doesn't have a problem that his best friend is dating a married man. He certainly is not attracted to his best friend's little brother, and denial is just a river in Eygpt. AthrunxShinn, GilxKira, ReyxCagall
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Mosaic  
Author: **Teno Hikari**  
Fandom: **Gundam Seed Destiny**  
Pairings:** Athrun x Shinn, Gil x Kira, and more!

**Disclaimer: _I plead insanity, your honor._**

**Summary:** AU - Athrun Zala has everything under control. He doesn't have a problem with his father being cold and distant. Or the fact that his best friend is dating a married man. He certainly is not attracted to his best friend's little brother, and denial is just a river in Egypt. (Athrun x Shinn , Gil x Kira, Rey x Cagalli and more cracktastic slash and het pairings to come.)

**Warning: Un-betad. **

**----------------------------**

_'Thank God for seatbelts,' _Athrun Zala thought to himself while holding onto the car's upholstery for dear life. Really what was he thinking by letting his best friend drive them back home? He should have known better, yet somehow, he had forgotten that Kira Yamato was a total speed demon, who needed to unleash his "mad skillz" to the public. Their road trip was supposed to be four hours minimum; but with the brunette practically having his foot on the gas the entire time, they would arrive at their destination at least another half hour. Alive or not, still remained to be seen.

Athrun did have to remind himself that his childhood friend had never got them into a major life-threatening accident before. He would have taken some comfort in that fact, except that his heart was beating a mile per minute. Kira had suddenly veered the car sharply to the left. Promptly cutting off another vehicle that seemed to be going at the same warp 10 speed they were at. All the while, the other boy was sitting rather calmly at the driver's seat. Appearing to the petrified witnesses all around, that he was driving casually, as if they were even close to the speed limit.

"What's the matter, Athrun?" Kira asked over the stereo that had been blasting rock music the entire trip. "You've been awfully quiet for awhile. Nervous?"

Nervous? Him? Well, who wouldn't be nervous about having your guts splattered along the highway?

"Of course not" he managed to answer as Kira suddenly swerved into another lane, "I've spent the holidays with your family before."

It was actually one of Athrun's fondest memories. Playing in the snow only to be warmed up later with freshly baked cookies and hot chocolate. Then of course there was the presents they all looked forward to. Athrun had never been materialistic but he loved watching the joy clearly expressed on the other children's' faces. His family had been very close to Kira's then.

The older teenager glanced sideways over to his passenger for a moment before focusing his eyes on the road as he weaved the car through traffic. As always there were no casualties; but Athrun wasn't too sure about the other drivers dying of heart attacks afterwards. He seriously wondered if Kira drove Lacus around like this. Or maybe the person Kira intended to kill with his reckless driving was him.

"Yeah, but that was like ten years ago," the other teen informed him as he reached over to skip a track on the CD player. "Lots of things have changed you know."

"Yeah... I know..."

That was an understatement. During the ten years away, Athrun had lost his mother. Ever since that tragic accident, everything had changed. Mainly the relationship he had with his father who constantly busied himself with his company. Going on long business trips that would last sometimes for months, Athrun found himself being passed around from relative to relative until finally he was old enough to get into the university and living on his own. Well Athrun did have a roommate, but Yzak spent more time over at Dearka's room than anywhere else.

He was unaware of violet eyes watching him through the view mirror - and Kira decided that it was time for a quick subject change.

"I mean we can't tease Cagalli anymore about the dresses Kaasan made her wear at like every annual Christmas party."

Athrun's lips did twitch into a small smile as he remembered Kira's twin sister. The surly blonde tomboy who was forced to wear a frilly green dress the last time he was present. "If I remember correctly - and I always do - you were the one who used to tease her. While I tried to hold her back from braining you with a boot."

Kira rolled his eyes heavenward. "Yeah and you did a wonderful job. If I remember correctly - and I always do, I had that heel imprint on my face for two days!"

The dark haired boy was grinning now, shaking his head in silent laughter as those carefree times came flooding back to him. Things were finally starting to look up once they reached the city limits. Kira was no longer striving to break the sound barrier anymore and actually driving with caution as they passed an elementary school district. Which unfortunately didn't last. Once they arrived at their destination, several minutes later, he hit his brakes suddenly. The car went into a spin that left tire marks on in and stopping just before running over a bright yellow dog standing by the curb.

Athrun's green eyes widened in surprise when the animal didn't seem to show any concern that it had almost become road kill. Instead it began to yap excitedly upon seeing who was inside the car. Turning his head towards Kira he stopped short of reprimanding him, when a grin spread across the brunette's face as he turned off the ignition and opened the door. As soon as he got out of the car, Kira leapt forward and wrapped his arms around the dog's neck.

"I missed you Okapi!" he exclaimed cheerfully as the animal began to bathe his face in doggie kisses. To Athrun who gratefully stepped out and away from the car (that had been very close to being his coffin), the scene was disgustingly cute. It definitely would have made many of Kira's male and female admirers at the university jealous.

Fondly, Athrun's emerald eyes turned towards the Yamato residence that was already decorated for the season and let nostalgia hit him at full force. Christmas lights of many colors, hung from the roof tops as well as being wound around the several tall pine trees in the front yard. Everything was also lightly dusted with snow... including his hair. He smiled, batting away the clinging snowflakes and turned towards the entrance where Mrs.Yamato had come out to greet them.

"Kira!" she exclaimed, embracing her oldest son - before giving one to his best friend as well. Which Athrun returned whole heartedly. "Athrun-kun, it's been so long! How did you guys get here so fast? I thought you called me from your dorm two and a half hours ago."

"Kira was driving," Athrun told her while grabbing his luggage from the car. "Foot on the gas all the way. I honestly thought I was going to die."

"Hey!" Kira opened the side door to grab his own baggage as well as a cage that contained a bright green and yellow canary. "Are you complaining, Athrun? You got here in one piece and early!"

Mrs.Yamato 'tsked' and lightly whapped the back of her son's head while taking the cage from him. "'Breaks are for the weak!' Just like your sister! Honestly, Kira, have some more consideration for the other people on the road who might want to live!"

Sheepishly, the brunette gestured for Athrun to follow after his mother inside while Okapi trailed behind them. The smell of freshly baked bread pudding and cookies were in the air, that made both inhale and exhale with a sigh. It had been awhile since either of them had food that was from a cafe, the campus cafeteria or a vending machine. A very welcomed change.

"Okay, why don't you boys go get settled in," Mrs.Yamato said while hanging up the cage and petting the bird fondly with her index finger. "Athrun-kun, you'll be using the guestroom left on the hallway, right next to Shinn's bedroom. Kira once you've put your things away come down and help me with dinner... but before that, wash your face."

"Hai, Kasaan."

Athrun chuckled quietly to himself as he watched his best friend attempt to wipe the remainder of dog drool off face, only to have Okapi tackle him by the stair case.

Using his memory to guide him, he had no trouble navigating through the large house to find his room. Other than the new hard wood floors, nothing seemed to have changed since the last time he was here. Except when Athrun reached the bedroom, he couldn't help but glance at the slightly opened door next to his. The door to Shinn's room.

_"Don't go, Athrun-niisan! I don't want you to go!"_

An image of a tearful red-eyed boy came wailing back to him, and he immediately looked away to hide his guilt. The memory of moving away from the Yamato family was still etched in his memory and while growing up around strangers, he wondered what it would have been like if they hadn't moved at all. But there was no point on dwelling on things that were never meant to happen. What was important now, was that he was back, right?

Against his better judgment, Athrun couldn't help but gently push at the door ajar, but letting it swing wide open. Luckily, Kira's younger sibling wasn't there though. It was still mid afternoon so he was most likely at school right now. Quietly, the intruder scanned the room and automatically taking in every detail.

At first glance he would automatically assume that Shinn was just like his older brother with all the academic and athletic awards on the shelves hanging just above a low book case. The desk beside it, was cluttered with stuff, and clothes were randomly discarded around the bed. However, upon closer inspection - he realized that there were many differences between the two brothers by simply comparing their rooms.

For starters, it seemed that Shinn had a fascination with pop music and military jets with all the magazines piled up on the desk. The shelf above them was supporting nothing else but Gundam models in all different scales and, much to Athrun's surprise, a very familiar red Haro doll was sitting in the back. It was just as he remembered it to be: a strange looking rabbit with beady eyes, short floppy ears, a tennis ball like body, and elongated arms and legs. Stepping forward, he carefully reached out to take it into his hands, smiling at the memory of a young Shinn holding the doll in one hand with matching Haro pajamas, crying and pleading to be included in the slumber party whenever Athrun spent the night.

"Shinn always treasured Haro, he was a present from his Athrun-niisan after all," a voice said behind him.

He jumped, nearly dropping the doll, as he turned around to face Mrs.Yamato who was standing at doorway. His cheecks were flushed with embarrassment, feeling guilty for intruding. However, before he was about to apologize, Athrun noticed the object she suddenly held up for him. Gently, he placed the doll on the desk and stared at an old framed photograph of himself ten years ago.

There was a bright care-free smile on his younger self's face, as innocent green eyes stared back at Athrun. Cradled in the eight year-olds arms was another dark-haired boy a few years younger than him. Shinn was also smiling in the picture. Though he looked a little dazed and utterly confused about what was going on at the time. His mother had just appeared out of the blue, snapping them with her camera.

"Isn't he adorable in that one? There are also more pictures downstairs, Athrun-kun."

Quickly he tear his gaze away from the photo to smile back at Mrs.Yamato as she turned to leave.

"Arigatou, Yamato-sa…" he trailed off as Kira's mother shot him a strange look and hastily corrected himself, "Via-obasan."

The older woman smiled in satisfaction as she left him to reminisce. Once again his eyes began to compare objects again. This time between the old photo in his hand to a few of the new ones on the desk, and the difference was clear. Athrun had known that after the severe changes in his life he no longer smiled as bright as before, and now he knew that Shinn didn't either.

* * *

How much longer were they supposed to wait? Mayu La Fllaga sighed quietly to herself as she did her best not to annoy her cousin sitting in the driver's seat of the car because Cagalli was already annoyed. So she continued to play the puzzle game on her cell to try and kill some time. However, forty minutes and twenty-nine levels later, this began to bore her. So Mayu opted to re-write a short Christmas list of presents she planned to give out and of course receive. Though she was a little paranoid that those curious amber eyes would figure out what she was doing whenever they glanced in her direction.

Also, she felt a little guilty, writing up the list with Cagalli there because she couldn't think of anything to get the older girl. It had to special. Something better than what her parents were going to give the niece who voluntarily dropped off and picked their only child up from elementary school every other day. Not to mention looked after her whenever they were busy at work.

It irritated her how she could never find the perfect gift for certain members of her family. Especially Cagalli, who didn't like girly stuff but wasn't totally into the same things that guys were. So a new pink cell phone was out of the question. Mayu was at a loss and what to get and time was running out, considering that Christmas was a few weeks away. Most of the people on her list were already taken care of months ago, all except for the tomboyish cousin and her young uncle Rey.

Rey was difficult, because he never asked for anything while living with them. Also, she didn't know a whole lot about him. Other than tutoring her on his own time, the teenager pretty much kept to himself - mostly studying for his advanced-everything classes, or playing the piano. Much to her father's relief, he wasn't completely anti-social considering he was best friends with Shinn. Yet still, what do you get someone who doesn't care for anything? A pink cell phone?

"I'm going to kill that twerp," Cagalli announced while leaning forward against the steering wheel. "He said five o'clock sharp and its damn near six. I'm starving. We're already late. Everyone is probably waiting. Kaasan is going to get pissed, and..." the blonde glared when she ran out of reasons, so she just picked one randomly and repeated it, "I'm starving, dammit!"

From side passenger seat, Mayu looked up from her piece of paper and chewed up pen, about to remind her cousin, that homicide was not apart of the holiday spirit. However, as soon as she glanced over to the older girl who was radiating animosity, the brunette gulped and quickly sifted through her Hello Kitty backpack. Searching for something that would hopefully delay Shinn's inevitable demise. Even if he did deserve what was coming to him.

'_Ah-ha! Found it!'_

"Ne, Cagalli-neechan," Mayu called out as soon as her hand closed around the object she was looking for. Carefully she broke it in two equal pieces. "Want to share a candy cane?"

Sitting up, Cagalli's features brightened somewhat as she reached over to receive the offering. "Thanks kiddo."

Mayu beamed, as they say back to enjoy the sugary confection that would hopefully tide them over until dinner. Though she sincerely hoped that Shinn and his friends would hurry. Once the candy was gone, his sister's patience would be sure to follow. She really couldn't blame the older girl for being so upset.

From what she had heard from her mother and Aunt Via's conversation - while eavesdropping of course - Cagalli was going through a tough time right now with both work and with her boyfriend. The latter was to be expected. Mayu seriously hoped that she would dump him. She didn't care if he was Jona Roma Saran, he was a two-timing creep. "The sleaziest sleaze to ever sleaze before" - that's what her father had called him anyway. He also had a mullet. Cagalli deserved so much better than that. Someone just like...

"I'm sorry that you had to wait so long."

Both girls glanced up as a young man with long pale blonde hair and sea blue eyes, approached the side of the minivan. A wide smile formed on the ten year-old girl's face. Of course! How could she not think of it before!

"Rey-ojiisan!" Mayu greeted loudly, sitting up and turning around in her seat as the young man opened the passenger side door before stepping inside. He regarded her with a polite nod and almost - but really not quite there - smile, before turning to his best friend's older sister.

"Cagalli-san."

"Yo, Rey!"

"The movie was longer than we anticipated," he explained, "Shinn and the others will be here any minute."

Nodding, Cagalli started up the car again. "Well, how was it?"

"The movie?"

"Yeah."

Rey shrugged absently as he fastened his seatbelt while ignoring the speculative looks his niece was giving him. He knew that expression all too well with his older brother's bold claims to "make the impossible, possible". He really didn't want to know what was running through that clever young mind of hers. It just wasn't healthy, her mother warned him before.

"The movie had horrendous acting, and a weak plot. I didn't care too much for it."

Cagalli chuckled at that, "As long as there were enough loud explosions, mass mayhem, and drawn out fighting scenes between giant robots; I'm sure Shinn loved it."

At that, a small miniscule smile did manage to tug at the corner of the blonde boy's lips. Yet it remained unseen to the other blonde who at that point, turned her attention on her little brother and the rest of his friends when they approached. Yet Mayu, who had her eyes focused on the rear view mirror the whole time, was able to catch it. The little girl practically had to cover her mouth to keep from giggling. Already she knew what to get her Cousin Cagalli and Uncle Rey for Christmas this year: each other.

Now… who to give that pink cell phone to?

* * *

'_Damn Yula…' _

Shinn Asuka Yamato found himself glaring at the back of his older sister's head as she drove them back to their house. Okay he understood that she had a right to be pissed off for the long wait, but did she really have to chew him out in front of his friends! Had it been a normal day, he would have gladly added fuel to the fire by calling his sister "Yula" - her accursed nickname. Yet since it wasn't , he held his tongue. Shinn really didn't feel like walking home after such a long day. When their last final was over he, Rey, Lunamaria, Meyrin, Youlan, and Vino, went out for a late lunch and an action-packed new sci-fi movie to celebrate.

After an entire week of cramming for exams and final project due dates, it was all over. Shinn didn't have to worry about anymore exams or major projects for his advanced classes for another semester. Winter break was a simply a near month of vacation where he could relax and spend time with his family and friends. Especially those whom he hasn't seen in such a long time.

When Kira moved out to attend the university in another city, he knew that he would be seeing less of his older brother every year. Like only on major holidays and sometimes before or after the semesters. Sure it bummed him out at first, but Kira kept up with the communication by calling home every week and sending emails. In fact his brother had sent him one a couple days ago that practically made him fall out of his chair. In that message, his brother said that he was bringing home a guest.

Athrun Zala.

Had it really been almost a decade since he saw or spoke to him? Back when Kira's best friend had been their neighbor, Shinn had considered Athrun to be like another older sibling. He would even call him "Athrun-niisan" while following the emerald-eyed boy around in child-like adoration. When the Zalas moved away, Shinn couldn't remember crying so much in his entire life. He was too young to understand what was really happening, only that his other "niisan" was leaving him behind.

_'I promise I'll come back, Shinn,' an eight-year old Athrun had promised. 'I'll come back and we can play games again. So until then, don't cry, okay?'_

Shifting his gaze towards the side window, Shinn watched the moving cars turn into motions blurs as they sped through the streets. While barely listening to the conversation between Rey and Lunamaria, he wondered how he could have been so naive back then. Not just the time when the Athrun and his family moved away; but every year following that one. Almost every week, he would walk over to the former Zala residence - even though it was occupied by other people - hoping that Athrun would keep his promise.

_Liar._

Shinn caught his reflection in the frosty glass staring straight back at him. But it wasn't mimicking the scowl he was presently wearing. Instead it was an older version of that boy who had wept the day Athrun had left. The unmistakable veil of hope clouded those crimson eyes, and he looked away from himself in an attempt to shun it.

_Liar._

_

* * *

_

The guests filed in quickly over at the Yamato residence. A couple of friends and family members had dropped by for dinner, which would eventually turn into a post-Christmas celebration. Kira knew from past experience, that the guest list would eventually triple later into the night while the temperatures outside would drop. He had been used to being in a house filled with so many people that it never bothered him in the past; but for some reason, it now felt stifling and claustrophobic.

Also with all the numerous conversations going on in the background, he wouldn't be able to hear his cell phone if it rang, and he was expecting a _very_ important call.

So now he was standing outside on the porch in the frigid cold, watching as legions of crystal flakes blanketed themselves atop the roof of his car. Kira wondered if his best friend had felt the same serenity when they arrived. If it reminded Athrun of their childhood and the simplicity of those days.

Now everything was a complication. School. Work. Relationships. As if each one wasn't stressful enough, you still had to try and juggle all three around. At least now on vacation, he could put the first two aside in his mind. However, the last one was most likely the reason why he's freezing his ass off.

Common sense was shouting for him to go back inside and just forget about the expected phone call. Normally he'd listen to the nagging voice if it wasn't for another one that he couldn't really identify. One that was urging him to wait and how it would all be worth the trouble.

Breathing in the icy air and breathing out a sigh, he glanced back down at his cell for the umpteenth time and frowned at the "NO INCOMING CALLS" text on the screen. _God damn, what in the world was taking so long? _

"Keep glaring like that and you might make it spontaneously combust any minute!"

Eye twitching a little in irritation, Kira lifted his violet glare to target the speaker. Both his twin sister and younger brother were smirking right back at him from where they stood. Behind the two of them, was Rey and Mayu, along with a group of teens whom he recognized as Shinn's close friends. How long had they been standing there? Several familiar faces were all staring at him oddly. It didn't take long for Kira to realize that he had not only been blocking the entrance, but oblivious to their requests for him to move aside.

"Hey, Kira-niichan!" Mayu called out, poking her head around Shinn's arm, "What are you doing out here? Aren't you cold without a jacket?"

He stepped out of the way, smiling a little at his young cousin. "I'm fine, Mayu-chan. Just waiting for a call. Go on in, everyone's waiting."

"Everyone?" Cagalli repeated, "Including your boyfriend?"

Mayu, seeing the look of doom Kira was giving his sister, promptly latched herself to Cagalli's arm and pulled her towards the door. After all her Christmas plans were going to be ruined if one of the 'gifts' to be exchanged ended up dead. "Come on, Cagalli-neechan! Let's go get some hot chocolate!"

The blonde reluctantly let herself be dragged. The others followed close behind, not wanting to spend even another minute out in this freezing weather. Kira still however wasn't alone when the door closed behind the last person. Amethyst eyes met with Garnet. His little brother moved to stand directly before him, startling Kira with that fierce expression on his face.

"Boyfriend?" Shinn asked carefully, trying to control himself from snarling. He didn't know why, but a pain unlike anything swept through his chest and tightened around his heart. Holding it in a vice grip.

"Yes, 'boyfriend'. You do remember that I'm gay, right?"

Kira swallowed hard, he could practically see the dark cloud gathering around his younger sibling. What was going on? Shinn had never behaved this way when he was dating other boys in high school.

"So… that's why Athrun came back."

_Athrun. _Now that's when the pieces fell into place. Gently, he tilted Shinn's chin up so he could look into those ruby eyes before they had a chance to shed tears.

"No."

Kira shook his head and repeated himself firmly, "No. He's still my best friend and nothing more."

Shinn glanced away, looking relieved as the tightening in his chest had finally ceased.

"Oh."

"You really like him, don't you?" Kira asked without even a waver of volume.

The raven-haired boy tear himself away, stepping back and glaring at the older teenager. "Of course not! Don't assume such stupid things! It only makes an ASS," Shinn began to spell out with his fingers, "out of U and ME, but…"

"Mostly U?" Kira finished with a teasing smile.

"Arghh!"

Throwing his hands up into the air, Shinn stalked passed him… and right smack into the newcomer who had just opened the door. Startled, Athrun quickly grabbed the arm of the person who walked into him from hitting the ground, and pulled the younger man up against him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his face drawn up in concern as he gazed down at the pale boy staring blankly back up at him. "Um…?"

"A-Athrun….?" Kira's little brother stuttered helplessly. Out of all the people to walk into tonight, it had to be him. A flurry of emotions was wreaking havoc in his mind, and he shook his head in hopes to clear it. After he managed to regain his composure, Shinn pulled his arm free from the other's grasp.

"Yeah, I'm fine, _Athrun-san_."

Both friends winced at the bitterness in his tone and then again when Shinn had turned on his heal and towards the house. Slamming the door shut behind him. Athrun stared at it for a long time before shaking his head in dismay.

"You were right, Kira. Everything has changed."

**----------------------------**

**Author's Notes: **Yes... major OOCness and I apologize for the numerous grammar errors in this rough draft. I ended up spending the whole day writing it when I should at least START writing up that research paper for Psychology due on Monday. As you can see, my priorities are really screwed.

** Kira the reckless driver: **He may not be the pilot of the Freedom Gundam anymore - but he's not someone you wanna play "chicken" or even "gay chicken" with!

** Shinn and pop music: **I couldn't help it… I mean in Destiny we already see him reading a magazine with "High and Mighty Color" (the band that did the "Pride" OP) on it.

** Cagalli x Rey: **I did warn that there would be crack pairings, didn't I?

** Mayu La Flagga: **Mwu (Neo) and Murrue's daughter. I really hope I'm not writing her as a Mary Sue. Other than being intelligent and observant for her age, she's also really compulsive.

Okay was there anything I missed? Well I'll explain more of the "Family Tree" in the next chapter. Until then, please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: Mosaic**

**Author: **Teno Hikari

**Fandom: **Gundam Seed Destiny

**Pairings: **Athrun x Shinn, Gil x Kira, Rey x Cagalli, and more.

**Disclaimer: **I plead insanity, your honor.

**Summary: **AU - Athrun Zala has everything under control. He doesn't have a problem with his father being cold and distant. Or the fact that his best friend is dating a married man. He certainly is not attracted to his best friend's little brother, and denial is just a river in Egypt. (Athrun x Shinn , Gil x Kira and more cracktastic slash and het pairings to come.)

**Warning: **Un-betad.

**----------------------------**

**Chapter Two**

Mayu was trying hard not to scowl throughout the dinner party as most of the adults would leave her out of the most interesting conversations. It got substantially worse over time when they would remark how adorable she was and pinch her cheeks until they were red. Adults failed to realize that it was hard being the youngest member of the family.

She did manage to find refuge among her cousin and his friends once she manage to get out of the crowd. For some reason she was holding a bowl of bread pudding and a spoon in her hands. Not quite sure how they ended up in her possession, Mayu shrugged and proceeded to join them in the living room.

Settling herself on the sofa beside Shinn, she began to poke at her dessert while tuning out the claymated version of "Frosty the Snowman," the others were watching. Apparently aside from all the cheek-pinching, watching old movies intended for children younger than her, was another holiday tradition.

"Yo Mayu," Shinn leaned in and stole a bite of her dessert with his own fork, "Is Kira-niisan and Athrun-san still outside?"

When he moved back she leaned over and grabbed a few cookies off his napkin in retaliation. "I don't think so," Mayu nibbled on one of them before turning back to scan the dining room where most of the guests were at. "Via-obasan had to drag them both in when they missed dinner."

"Oh."

"It's a good thing she did, the temperature is still dropping outside." Mayu's turned back around and frowned at the older boy who had taken back one of the cookies she had stolen. But before she could complain about it, Rey had emerged from the crowd with his own plate and her lips curved into a grin when she saw what was on it.

"Cagalli-neechan made the brownies," she informed him cheerfully when he took a seat across from them. "They're really yummy!"

"What are you talking about, Mayu?" Shinn asked as he attempted to grab another cookie off of Meyrin's plate. Only to have his hand swatted away by Lunamaria. "They're made from a box mix you buy at the store. Anyone can follow the directions on the b- ack!"

Mayu quickly silenced him with a quick jab to the ribs before glancing back at the other boy. "It's the thought that counts right, Rey-ojisan?"

Rey nodded quietly, picking up the brownie with a look of amusement playing on his features while Shinn rubbed his injury. She couldn't believe he was eating before the selection of fruits he had picked up at the buffet. With Rey living with them for a couple years now, she did manage to learn a lot about her father's younger brother just by observing him. She discovered that he didn't really care for sweets. He either avoided them completely or saved them for last. Mayu actually had to force herself to pay attention to the movie to stop herself from grinning like a Cheshire cat.

It wasn't long before Cagalli decided to join them. Having had enough advice from other relatives about what to do with a two-timing boyfriend. As much as the ten-year old wanted her cousin to sit beside Rey to help move her plans along, she decided not to push her luck. Mayu watched as the older girl plopped down on the sofa beside her and zoned out at the television screen.

Ten minutes later, the blonde remarked that her brain cells were dying watching this drivel and a fight for the remote with Shinn ensued. Everyone in the living room actually found the struggle between siblings more entertaining than watching what was on the TV. Sadly it didn't last long since Cagalli knew her little brother's weak tickle spots. She was now flipping through other channels while Shinn sat on the floor, holding his sides, and looking utterly mortified.

Finally everyone agreed on watching a comedy until Mayu dozed off half way through it. When she came to, hours later, her chin was resting against her dad's shoulder as he carried her piggy-back styled towards the door. She could hear the murmur of conversation all around her, but it was fainter now than before. Perhaps most of the guests had gone home already.

"You awake, koneko-chan?"

Recognizing her father's pet-name for her, she nodded with a "meow," that broke off into a yawn.

"That's fine, go back to sleep then."

Mwu La Flagga - an author who went under the pen name "Neo Lorrnoke" - smiled as his daughter quickly complied, before turning towards his wife. Murrue was still saying goodbyes to her sister, Via and her husband, Haruma. Beside him, Rey was... Well still Rey, but he looked less subdued and withdrawn than usual. Which was a good thing of course, but Mwu was curious about this sudden change in mood.

"Something wrong, oniisan?"

"Eh?" Mwu suddenly realized that he had been staring, and now the teenager was staring back at him. "N-no! Nothing's wrong."

"What's wrong?" Murrue asked as she put on her coat and joined them at the door.

"Oniisan was giving me "The Look" again," Rey informed her. The young woman blinked before glancing over to her husband, looking slightly worried.

"You're not planning on making us go Christmas caroling this late are you?"

"Of course not! Christmas is weeks away and we don't even have our costumes yet!"

"Costumes?" Rey inquired, "Why would there be costumes?"

Mwu gave him a look as though he was some heretic blasphemer.

"Because it's Christmas! You have to dress up to get into the holiday spirit and it's our family tradition after all!"

Rey opened the door as his brother and sister-in-law turned to wave back at their hosts. He didn't even wince as the icy cold night air slapped him across the face and tousled his hair.

_'...Your family, maybe.'_

-----------

After watching his friends and their invited families leave the party, Shinn also called it a night and headed upstairs. Content to finally going to bed without having to close one of his text books first, and sleeping in as long as liked. Or as long until someone dragged him out of bed by force to do some house chores.

Heading into his room to change into his sleepwear, Shinn new something was amiss the moment he turned the lights on. Dropping his coat on the floor, he wandered around the room; eyeing his belongings, every piece of furniture, and could tell easily what had been changed in his absence. It didn't take long for his garnet colored eyes to wander over to his desk and saw two objects that were not supposed to be there.

One of them he immediately recognized was his Haro doll - wait 'toy', not doll - that he had normally kept on the shelf up above. So what was it doing down here? His parents and even Cagalli (most of the time) respected his privacy enough not to come into his room and re-arrange his belongings. Then Shinn's turned his attention on the second item out of place.

His grip on the Haro doll tightened as he saw a younger version of himself clinging onto another little boy a few years older. That emerald eye boy was of course Athrun Zala, way back when Shinn had referred to him as "Athrun-niisan". Back when his heart hadn't formed it's cracks.

Abruptly, Shinn slammed the photo faced down against the desk - and didn't wince at the sound of cracking glass. He'd replace the frame later. All he wanted to do now was collapse ontop of his bed and get some rest. Placing the Haro doll - toy - back on the shelf, he quickly stripped down and put on the sweats and t-shirt that had been discarded on the floor.

Once dressed, he headed out to the hallway to use his bathroom and was surprised when the knob refused to turn. He tried again but the door refused to open. Now this was strange. His bathroom was normally never occupied, since his parents and Cagalli had their own. Then he remembered that his brother and Athrun were also staying her. Except Kira's room was right next to Cagalli's on the other side of the house. So... who was staying in the guest room beside him?

His question was answered the moment the door opened, with Athrun Zala wearing nothing but his boxers. Shinn felt his face heat up and hastily backed away, as if he found the older boy's semi-nudity intimidating. Much to his relief and a little disappointment, Athrun put his sweatpants on, and was now staring at him oddly.

"Gomen, Shinn," he apologized, "were you waiting long?"

Waiting long?

_'Yes, for almost ten years!' _was all Shinn's brain managed to think of while he lost himself in those green eyes. He opened his mouth, about to voice out what was eating him inside, until Cagalli suddenly blocked his path.

"Where were you at the party, Athrun? Hiding?" the blonde inquired, slapping him friendly-like across the back. Shinn's eyes narrowed as the other young man's attention turned towards his sister. He sidestepped around them and towards the bathroom, grumbling about the injustice of it all.

-----------

The glowing digital numbers on his cell phone were reading 2:48am when Kira's hand fumbled through the darkness to retrieve it. He found nothing but air for several moments before the ringing that had awakened him ceased. Groaning, his arm flopped carelessly back to the bed. The brunette decided to wait until morning to check his messages. For all he knew it was probably one of his friends who had gotten hammered and wanted to share their sob story.

Deciding that he wasn't going to deal with that at this ungodly hour, Kira turned on his side and hoped he could resume his dream. A dream that did include a bed with him and another on it - and there was no sleeping involved. He groaned again into his pillow. Maybe his twin was right, that having this kind of relationship was turning him into some kind of pervert.

Not even a minute later, did the ringing start again and this time Kira sat up, and ignoring the disgruntled whine from Okapi sleeping at the food of the bed, snatched up the phone. Without bothering to find out who the caller was he answered it with a rude: "What the hell! Do you know what time it is!"

Before he had a chance to wonder why he sounded so much like Yzak Jule when he was cranky, the response on the other end was a soft chuckle. It only took a second to recognize who the caller was - the one he was indeed waiting for all night. Now wide awake, Kira clutched the cell phone tightly, his anger forgotten.

"Gil?"

"Gomen, Kira-kun," came the sultry voice of his lover that made him melt on the spot. "I just missed hearing your cheerful voice."

It took a couple of seconds for the rest of his brain to wake up, but when it did, Kira rolled his eyes. "I would probably sound more cheerful if this wasn't a long distance call, and you remembered those troublesome things called time zones."

He yawned again, going off on how it may have been daytime on whatever country Gil was spending his holiday at, it certainly wasn't here. Outside he could still see the stars out and the light snow fall that continued to blanket the frost covered ground. Then out of the corner of his eye, Kira saw movement coming from beside his car. At first he tensed and thought it was some carjacker... but as he squinted, the phone dropped from his tense fingers.

A dark-haired man in a black trench coat appeared, beautiful enough to make one question reality, but not so beautiful as to be mistaken for a woman. But hidden in the fine-boned, elegant features exists an eternal serenity that is too perfect to be real. Graceful and lithe, the handsome visitor moves silently, every step light and careful, trying to leave as little trace of his passage as possible, even though he knows that his footsteps will be erased within a minutes' time.

When those honey colored eyes met his own, Kira quickly and silently as possible - so not to wake the whole household - left his room to head downstairs. Seconds later, he was practically out of breath when he reached the front door and luckily he remembered to take a deep breath before opening it. For he forgot to breathe when the chill from outside combined with the sight of manly perfection was now before him.

"Gil, what are you doing here? I thought you were with..."

Kira trailed off, wondering if he was dreaming and decided that he didn't care as he sprang forward into the other man's welcoming embrace.

------------

Athrun had always been an early to bed - early to rise kind of person. He lived by a schedule and always had something to do even on his days off from school and his internship at the law firm. However, holidays spent with families tended to make him uncomfortable. In fact he wouldn't even had come if Kira hadn't insisted on it... with blackmail.

_"Ne, Athrun. Wanna come home with me? But if you'd rather stay here, there's this nice guy I've been meaning to set you up with. He doesn't have anything special planned either."_

That so-called "nice guy" Kira had been referring to had been Crot Buer, a red head with a really short fuse. Anyone who even looked at him funny normally got an ear-ache and a saliva face-bath. Far from pleasant company. Which lead Athrun to wonder about his best friend. For someone who smiled like an angel, Kira surprisingly had a rather sadistic personality. Sometimes Athrun would wonder what kind of partner his best friend would find for himself in the future.

After a shower and change of clothes, he planned on heading downstairs, to see if he could help Mrs.Yamato with anything in the kitchen. However, his emerald eyes spotted Okapi wandering the hallway before nudging the door to next to his room. Amused, he leaned against the doorframe, watching as the dog jumped up onto the bed and waking up it's only occupant.

Shinn stirred, mumbling incoherently in his sleep. Athrun's face softened as he remembered how they used to have sleepovers. Normally he would have bunked with Kira and even Cagalli. When the youngest of the Yamato family was old enough, Shinn would demanded to be included as well. Smiling, the older boy planned on just closing the door and letting the other just sleep in. That was until Shinn's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"A... athru...ni..."

He turned back to see his best friend's little brother who was half awake and half asleep. Hazy crimson eyes met his and a pale hand reached out to him almost in a pleading gesture. Before falling back to bed, Shinn closed his eyes and began to snore quietly again.

Blinking in surprise, Athrun wasn't sure what to do. Apart of him wanted to go over to the boy and make sure he was all right. Yet another part of him didn't want to wake him and deal with Shinn's cranky morning moodiness - Kira had told him about long ago. So he did what he was thought was best, by turning to leave and closing the door behind him.

------------

The mouth-watering aroma of breakfast greeted Athrun when he entered the kitchen to see both of his best friend's parents cooking breakfast. Side by side just like his had used to do. When he was too young to help out, he would sit at the table and watch them idly chatting about everything and nothing, as they worked in union. Yet always, his mother would turn to smile at him over her shoulder when she greeted him. Her smile, was so bright and so warm, that it defrosted even his father's cold exterior.

"Ohayo, Athrun!"

Realizing that he had been spacing out again, the said boy sheepishly smiled back at the couple who were probably wondering if he had been sleep walking. Quickly he apologized - mainly for intruding rather than being caught in a daze, and returned the greeting with less enthusiasm.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Athun asked, sounding a little too eager. He needed to keep his mind away from other things by distracting himself with something constructive to do. Via seemed to detect this and smiled, stepping aside from the counter and gestured to the waffle iron and batter mix.

"Can you finish making the rest of the waffles while I work on the eggs?"

Mentally he perked up, nodding to the task as he stepped up. Athrun didn't have a clue what to do though. The kind of waffles he made growing up were the ones bought at the grocery store's freezer section.

But really, how hard could it be? Pour batter goop on hot iron. Wait a little bit. Remove waffle from iron. Repeat step one. The batter was sticky and it even got on his clothes somehow. A couple unsuccessful attempts later, Athrun began to get the hang of it but still would rather stick to the frozen kind.

By the time he was finishing off the last of the batter, Cagalli came downstairs - smirked at his apron, and sat down at the kitchen table.

"You know normally, over-worked students would take the opportunity to sleep in," she said casually, helping herself to some coffee. "Kira's practically comatose on the mornings he's home."

Separating the stack of perfectly golden brown waffles from the charred black and the pale, barely-cooked, yellow ones; Athrun sat down across from the blonde and sighed.

"It can't be help. I have work early in morning and then afternoon and evening classes," he explained, "So I'm used to waking up before dawn."

Kira's schedule was the exact opposite, and sometimes the two best friends rarely saw one another. Only sometimes when they hurried across campus, they'd catch glimpses of each other. Occasionally, they would hang out and have dinner with the rest of their circle of friends. Yet recently, the brunette's time was occupied when he was off.

It made Athrun wondered if his friend had another girlfriend... or boyfriend. But surely Kira would tell him who it was so they could meet. Wouldn't he?

He looked up as a hand waved in front of his face. Cagalli's amber eyes was staring closely at him. Too close in fact since the blonde was leaning over the table and he could feel her breathe on his face.

"Want to let me on your internal conversation there?" she asked teasingly.

He smiled back at her, inwardly cursing himself for zoning out again. Really, what was with him today? Athrun was always focused whenever around people.

"I was just thinking..." he began while pouring himself a cup of coffee, "What a fool Jona Roma Saran is."

Kira's twin sister turned pink with anger as she flopped back down on her seat. "Arghh! I don't want to hear about it! I don't even know why I went out with that creep!"

"I think it had something to with sport cars," Shinn offered helpfully as he pulled up a seat at the table.

Cagalli stared at the other boy, who was - much to her total shock - awake and dressed for the day. Also, he was sitting next to Athrun in the center, and not at his usual place. Right by the counter where he could turn on the small kitchen TV or radio in order to tune out their chatter.

She just grinned behind her mug of coffee and shrugged.

"You might be right, Shinn," she agreed, looking thoughtful. "Though instead of decking him one, I should have stole the car before running him over with it."

"Yeah, but who wants to clean up Seran road kill?"

"Shinn! Cagalli! Enough! We're about to eat!" Mrs.Yamato chastised her children as she and her husband approached with plates of food in their hands. "Where's Kira?"

"Sleeping," the two siblings answered as they began to attack the stack of waffles. Catching their mother's frown, Athrun pulled away at the table.

"I'll go get him," he offered, striding out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

When he approached the room, he wasn't surprised to find the door lock. At the dorms, the brunette needed absolute privacy whenever he studied for an exam - at least that's what he told everyone else. Athrun knew his friend could memorize book passages and recite them hours late while playing video games or watching television. Photographic memory. It was a rare gift other students would be jealous over if they knew.

Not at all worried about invading Kira's privacy, he got out his wallet and used a student ID card to work open the door. Athrun was not going to sit at the kitchen table as Kira's substitute. He was going to drag Kira out of bed and down the stairs if he had to.

"Hey, Kira! Wake up, it's time to..."

Only Kira was awake in bed... and was not alone.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Zala-kun."

Athrun's eyes went wide as he saw the Chairman of his law firm - his boss - half covered in bed sheets, with his best friend straddling his lap.

"Du... Dullindal-gichou!"

**----------------------------**

**Author's Notes: **Who doesn't love cliffhangers? Sorry for the delays on... well everything. School and work have been making me miserable these past couple of months, and suddenly family has been eating away at my free time. Hopefully when my final exams are over I can make regular updates. Hopefully.

**Review Responses**

Ookami Fuu - Well GilxKira are a side pairing like ReyxCagalli, but I'm glad you'll still continue to read the story despite them.

Nevermore-Amaya - Yeah it's kind of weird writing them as brothers now; though in the very beginning of Gundam Seed Destiny I always wondered if they were somehow related.

Many thanks to Cagalli Yula Athha Fangirl, lightyearsaway, loopy loki, pluto-mint, kiki, RuByMoOn17, kasiuke, Aegis04, and Wyntermajik - Glad you enjoyed, I'll try to keep regular updates!


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: Mosaic**  
**Author:** Teno Hikari  
**Fandom:** Gundam Seed Destiny   
**Pairings: **Athrun x Shinn, Gil x Kira, Rey x Cagalli, and more.  
**Disclaimer:** I plead insanity, your honor.

**Summary: AU** - Athrun Zala has everything under control. He doesn't have a problem with his father being cold and distant. Or the fact that his best friend is dating a married man. He certainly is not attracted to his best friend's little brother, and denial is just a river in Egypt. (Athrun x Shinn , Gil x Kira and more cracktastic slash and het pairings to come.)

**Warning:** Un-betad.

**----------------------------**

**Chapter Three**

"Du... Dullindal-gichou?!"

Despite the fact that he always got top marks in every math class from elementary addition to university-level advanced algebra; Athrun couldn't compute the equation before him. His best friend. His Boss. In bed. Together. This just couldn't be happening. This wasn't happening! Maybe, Athrun hoped, just maybe if he closed his eyes tight enough this bad dream would go away.

"Athrun..."

_Dammit! Why wasn't it going away?!_

"Athrun open your eyes and shut the door," he heard Kira's voice over his own thoughts. When he didn't respond, there was a rustling noise of cloth and footsteps striding across the carpet. The sound of a door closing made his eye lids shoot upwards and he was now staring at the brunette standing in front of him.

Fortunately for him, Kira was now partially dressed. Wearing only a white buttoned-down silk shirt, that was a couple sizes two big over his boxers.

"How? What? When? Why?" Athrun found himself sputtering all at once.

"Athrun..."

The emerald-eyed young man quickly grabbed his friend's arm and pulled him close so that he could talk to Kira to keep the other occupant of the room from overhearing. The older man who happened to be his boss, and most important was - and still is - married to a woman. Surely Kira knew this! Did the Yamatos know that they had another 'guest' under their roof? Did Kira know that?

"What are you thinking?!" he hissed quietly, "Your family is just downstairs eating breakfast!"

"Really?" Kira blinked and looked thoughtful. "Are there anymore waffles left?"

Athrun felt his jaw begin to twitch when he heard Gilbert Dullindal chuckle from where he sat on the bed, watching the two of them. What the hell was with these two? Did they literally screw each other's brains out - now there was a mental picture he didn't need before breakfast - and unaware of the scandal their affair would cause?

Backing away, he dug a hand through the dark blue locks of his hair and began to pace.

"Zala-kun," Dullindal spoke quietly. The amusement that had been on his face, was replaced with a deadly serious expression that was rarely seen at their board meetings. "We would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this."

It took everything he had not to stare incredulously at the chairman, whom he had always respected since the day they met. Keep this discovery a secret? From Kira's family, his co-workers, even to Dullindal's wife whenever she came to visit her husband? Could he really do that? Helping his boss and best friend conceal such a relationship? Was it even a relationship at all?

"Athrun..."

He turned his eyed to meet pleading amethyst eyes and knew his answer.

----------------------------

Mayu managed to stifle a yawn as she entered the kitchen, dragged out of bed by the delicious aroma of breakfast. Of course, she was the last to wake and join her family. She was no 'early bird' like her teenage uncle, but at least wasn't a deep sleeper like her father. The only reason he was up because there was a football game starting in an hour, and his buddies would be coming over soon.

"So Rey, are you going to stick around and watch the game with us? The BaCUEs are playing against the ZAKUs."

The younger blonde didn't even make the effort to roll his eyes. It was obvious that Rey wasn't interested in sports. In fact he actually told his older brother this whenever invited to join their football or basketball games. Of course that didn't stop the Mwu from asking Rey to join him for some male-bonding in front of the television. There were times when the teenager would give in for the sake of bonding with his brother - or to get him to stop nagging - but this was not one of them.

"I'll pass," Rey responded casually over his tea. "I want to catch up on my reading."

"Reading?" Mwu wrinkled his nose as he watched his daughter drown her pancakes in syrup, "Who studies during winter break?"

"You're a writer, are you not? So you should know that people read out of interest, not obligation."

"Well it depends on what you're reading..." the older blonde leaned forward and grinned, "Anything by the proclaimed-best selling author of the year?"

Mayu rolled her eyes when Rey hadn't bothered to do so again. Really, her father should give it a rest. Sure she would admit his novels were immensely interesting and full of suspense that left a reader unable to the book down until it was read all the way through. However, Rey wasn't into stories like that. She knew for a fact that he liked non-fiction stuff, that would eventually bore her. It would most definitely bore Cagalli.

Slowly, Mayu chewed her breakfast as she began to think about her match-making plan. She knew from the start that this wasn't going to be easy. After all both blondes had two distinct and different personalities.

Rey was an introvert, if he could help it, spent more time alone than socializing with anyone. When he came to live with them, he didn't speak a word to either her or her mother. Rarely did he even speak to her father then, his own brother. At school it was worse. But that was then, and now he wasn't much of a social outcast. Sure he had his friends from school, and on occasion he hung out with Shinn; but she saw that their company often wear him out.

Whereas Rey were more likely to stand in the background, the other blonde was up front and center stage. Cagalli, as long as Mayu knew her cousin (which was pretty much her entire life), was a headstrong and outgoing extrovert. The older teen more than often turned her interests over to other people and events rather to her own thoughts and feelings.

Perhaps to anyone else, Rey and Cagalli were incompatible. Yet this ten year old girl saw differently. She was a firm believer in the old saying that opposites always attracted. There is truth to this, despite similar human behaviors, everyone is different, and everyone is unique. Yet, to Mayu's belief, each individual is lacking something important. A quality perhaps, or character trait they wished they had. This was why couples needed to be different, because each partner needs the other to complete themselves. It would be tricky, but Mayu was eager for the challenge.

"We're all going ice skating this afternoon," she announced and glanced over Rey who had already tuned out his brother's book recommendations. "You're coming with us right, Rey-ojisan?"

"I don't skate."

The boy didn't even look up, and Mayu frowned. Quickly she resorted to the pleading-puppy-eye expression and leaned forward in his direction. Sure it was overkill, but he would suspect something was up and get at her insistent begging.

"Aaaw but it'll be fun! You don't have to skate if you don't want to. Just come to hangout with us."

She could see that he wanted to refuse. However, he made the mistake by meeting her hopeful yet pitiful expression, and sighed.

"Who is 'us'?" Rey wanted to know before agreeing to anything. He was hooked, but the brunette didn't want to test her luck. She knew how much of an anti-social her uncle was around other people. If it wasn't for Shinn, she doubted he would go out of his way to hang out with the rest of their group of friends.

"Oh you know... just Shinn, Kira-niichan, Athrun-san," she saw the look of disinterest and quickly added, "me, and of course Cagalli-neechan"

There was no change on the teenager's face when he poured another cup of tea for himself.

"Fine, I'll go."

----------------------------

As the morning slowly rolled on, Athrun found himself unable to keep his mind off his best friend. His best friend's disastrous affair, that is. For someone who had been caught in a compromising position with an older - and married - man, he was acting pretty normal. Too normal. In fact he did seem to show any shame or a hint of embarrassment whenever they made eye contact. Unlike blushing Athrun who, ever since the day had started, was being tortured by that mental image.

Why is this getting to me? Athrun wondered. They're both adults and can do as they please. As long as they didn't plan to use him as a scapegoat or something, he didn't mind harboring their secret. Their shocking, disastrous secret.

Shoving his hands further into his coat pockets, Athrun trudged through the snow after Kira and his siblings as they headed to the parked mini-van. Before getting in, he found himself glancing back at the house and wondered where the Chairman was. Did he manage to sneak out of the house or was he planning on staying in Kira's bedroom the entire time? He seriously hoped it wasn't the latter.

"Oi!"

Tearing his eyes away from the house, Athrun blinked and glanced over to where Shinn was poking his head out of the van.

"What are you doing? Are you getting in or not?"

"Ah... uh...," stuttering awkwardly, Athrun climbed inside the car after Shinn and closed the door shut behind him.

Kira glanced around the front passenger seat curiously. "Did you forget to bring something, Athrun?"

_'Yeah, my sanity.'_

The green-eyed teen shook his head and say nothing.

After Cagalli turned on some music and bickered with Shinn for a little bit, they drove in awkward silence for awhile until reaching one of their destinations. Standing on the porch of a stunning two story post-modern house, was Mayu and Rey. Both sporting dissimilar looks of excitement and boredom.

The silence continued until they reached the outdoor ice rink where the gloomy face quickly brightened. Well with the exception of one. Cagalli instantly noted Rey's expression and lack of ice skates, and took it upon herself to rectify that problem.

"Rey, what's your size?"

"Pardon?"

The look of boredom was replaced with the rare expression of cluelessness, and Cagalli pointed to her own skates. "What's your shoe size?" she asked again, "You can't go ice skating without skates."

"I'm fine. I don't plan on skating at all."

"Do you even know how?"

When the older blonde began to scrutinize him, Rey shrunk back and found himself looking towards both his niece and best friend for support. Neither of them gave it. Mayu playfully nudged Shinn who held up the extra pair of skates she had asked him to bring.

"I brought another pair for him,"

The chilling look Rey gave him, made Shin shiver as he set the skates down and calmly backed away. As he watched his sister wait for Rey to put his skates on, and promptly dragged him to the rink; Shin had a feeling that when the Spring semester started, Rey wasn't going to lend him his study notes anymore.

----------------------------

After a few hours of skating and seeing how many tricks they could pull off to either awe or piss off each other, Kira and Athrun finally settled down on one of the benches. They immediately found their new source of entertainment and resisted the urge to laugh out loud. Especially when Cagalli's smoldering gold eyes snapped in their direction.

"Wow, I'm impressed," Kira remarked as he took off his skates to put his shoes on. "Rey is practically going second base on her and she has yet to slit his throat with the skate blades."

Athrun smiled, glad that the tension between them was gone for the moment. "It's probably because they're not sharp enough and too many witnesses around."

"Probably."

Glancing around the rink, Kira noticed the lack of relatives on it. Where did they go? His eyes widened as he heard a tiny, yet familiar, giggle from far behind and ducked.

"Heads up!"

**POW!**

Kira dared to look between gloved fingers and nearly broke down laughing at the stunned look on Athrun's face as remnants of a snowball clung to his head. Not evening needing a minute to collect himself, Athrun ducked another barrage. Dropping to his knees, he scooped up two clumps of snow off the ground, locked on his targets and fired.

Mayu squealed as a snow projectile hit her before she could launch the next one. Once down, and crawling to take cover behind another bench, Shinn stepped up to take him on, without knowing that Athrun had been the "snowball conqueror" on campus. Mayu attempted to help him but the two were clearly no match as Athrun got so many hits on them, they looked like snow men themselves.

"I surrender!" came the shrill voice of his cousin as she crawled around the bench and took refuge sitting with Kira.

Shinn had yet to admit defeat though, as he scrambled to grab more snow off the ground, while getting hit at the same time. Athrun had once believed that it was beneath him to attack an enemy while his back was turned. But considering he could still feel ice melting down his back, he would make an exception.

**POW!**

Shinn finally went down with a snowball in the face and the spectators who had been watching applauded while the boy waved one of his wet gloves up as a white flag. Athrun did his wave and cautiously approached the fallen boy, just in case he was faking a surrender. Once it was safe he helped Kira's brother wipe off the snow and smiled.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"One." Followed by his answer, Shinn promptly gave Athrun the middle finger salute. Shaking his head, and chuckling all the while, Athrun helped the younger boy stand.

"Close enough."

----------------------------

If there was anything that annoyed Mwu La Flagga, it was getting telephone calls during any sport game he and the guys had gotten together to watch. He would never leave the living room just to take a call (unless it was a matter of life and death, of course), because the last time he did so, years ago, he had missed many touch downs and last minute shots. So normally, Murrue would answer or the machine would pick up; however, the calls continued and it was starting to really bug him.

"Angel!" he called without taking his eyes off the television screen, "could you answer that?"

When the ringing didn't cease, or when Murrue hadn't shouted back _"make the impossible, possible, and answer it yourself, you lazy couch potato!"_ - he finally got up. His buddies dutifully reminded him on the way to the kitchen that Murrue had gone shopping with one of her girlfriends and the answering machine was broken. There was also a note written on the machine from Murrue herself, stating in bold letters that her husband was in no way allowed to fix any household appliances again.

Murrue still flinches whenever she tries to use the toaster.

Snagging the phone off the cradle, Mwu frowned as placed it near his ear while using his hand to cover the other one.

"Hello?" In that tone of voice, Mwu had expressed his annoyance and might have very well said: "If you aren't Publisher's Clearing House calling to offer me..."

"You mean you don't have enough money as it is, Mwu?"

At the sound of his name, thoughts of a carefree afternoon watch a football game with friends was far from his mind. Mwu stiffened and clench the phone tighter with white knuckles. He turned away from living room and it's cheering occupants and headed into a dark hallway far from ear shot.

"Do I have your attention now?"

"Why are you calling here?" he hissed, jerking his head back to the kitchen just in case one of the guests got up to look for him.

"Just to talk, Mwu. I haven't called at a bad time, have I?"

He seethed, already imagining the mocking smile on the caller's face.

"Make it quick, Rau."

----------------------------

Freezing from head to toe, and inside and out; Cagalli suggested they warmed and dried themselves off at a local coffee house she often visited. It reminded Athrun of the one near his school, minus the crowds of students on caffeine highs trying to study for an exam that was scheduled the next day.

The walls were painted a nice cream color, but bordered in dark brown. There were many small tables to sit two set up around the room, yet occasionally another chair had been added. Yet Kira's sister lead them away from that area. Near the back of the shop was a comfy looking sofa near a crackling fire, it was more secluded that the front of the shop and shrouded in shadows.

As Cagalli flopped down on the couch, Mayu frowned as her uncle - whose face was red from the cold and mortification, took a seat on one of the chairs further away. Rey kept his eyes off them and instead began to gaze enviously around at the other occupants, who didn't make themselves to look like a total fool the entire afternoon.

When everyone got comfy in their seats a friendly waitress came to take their orders before heading off to make them. As they waited, small talk finally broke out as feeling returned to everyone's toes. The little matchmaker was pleased as punch, to hear Cagalli had comment on how impressed she was with Rey. For someone who never skated in his life, he had learned how to in a single day and showed improvement before they left the rink. All the while, the said other blond was blushing furiously, yet blaming it all on the weather as the others smirked to themselves. The memory of the ice skating lesson still fresh on their mind.

When the drinks arrived, silence resumed once more, as they took a moment to completely relax and be rejuvenated by the warm scent of the coffee house. Even Rey's mood had changed after a few sips and he was actually smiling when Mayu commented how amazed she was with him that day. He was good, but not great and needed much more practice, and since Cagalli was such a good instructor, maybe the two should get together more often. Kira didn't miss how his cousin was smiling from ear to ear as neither of her two test subjects objected her proposal.

In the middle of the group, and couch, Shinn found himself unexpectedly wedged between his brother on the left, and Athrun on right. Yet for some reason found himself leaning a little bit towards the right. Maybe - and most likely - it was the extra marshmallows in his hot chocolate (why he ordered hot chocolate at a coffee house was nobody's business as far as he was concerned!); but Shinn actually sounded perky when he started speaking.

"I can't believe you hit me in the face, that was so low!"

"That was low? You hit me first when I wasn't looking."

"I gave you a warning, and you didn't take it, did you? Also, remember when we were little, you taught me to always aim at the person's body, never their face!"

Laughing a bit, Athrun remembered those times as he nodded his head. "To be honest, I didn't think I could hit you."

"Oh, whatever!" Shinn through up his hands in exasperation, his cheeks flushed a darker shade of crimson.

Athrun, glanced down at the younger boy leaning against him, and smirked. When Shinn didn't pull away, but did indeed move close enough to rest his head on his shoulder; Athrun started to feel a little ill. It suddenly felt too warm inside the Coffee House as he began to sweat under his sweater and jacket. His throat tightened, and stomach began to flutter like the wings of a butterfly. Was it his drink? No, because Kira had also ordered the same beverage, and after glancing in his direction, he seemed perfectly fine. All of a sudden, Athrun felt like an outcast from everyone else who were comfortable and content.

As he watched Shinn close his eyes for a moment, something within him was fascinated by those pale lips as they opened to release a small inaudible sigh. He couldn't help but smile fondly, but felt it melt away quickly as the younger man shifted even closer. Athrun found himself trapped between the arm of the sofa and a drowsy teenager. Though it wasn't exactly uncomfortable, he couldn't prevent his muscles from tensing. There was also something about that boy's face that made him unable to look away. Something that caused his hands twitch, his palms to sweat; and he racked his brain to figure out what it was.

_'Something... '_

Athrun didn't know he could actually hate a word.

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Author's Notes: Didn't think I would actually update this story after so long but after several death threats I decided to give it another shot.


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